Earlier this week Knyght performed a great service to the world of abandonware by adding the CD version of Dreamweb to Anarchy. It’s something I’ve been after for a while, having thoroughly enjoyed the disk version but also thinking (based on vague memories of a playable demo from around the time of the game’s initial release) that the CD version had some ‘quite good’ voice acting which made it worth seeking out.

Knyght actually describes the acting as “terrible” in his review, and having loaded up the game again and played through some of the early scenes, he could well have a point. Still, there’s something important about having the ‘talkie’ version, I think, if it exists. Even though I enjoyed the disk version, it always nagged me that perhaps I was missing out on something by not having the ‘deluxe’ edition with the voiceover.

Perhaps that’s why I wrote a fairly unenthusiastic review of a game that actually ranks among my favourite adventures. I did think that if I got my hands on the CD version I might be able to bump up the mark to 8/10 (or four full “blobs”, if you prefer) but I’ll reserve judgement on that one for now. I guess it’s a hard one to recommend too heartily because it has some fairly obvious flaws: it’s short, it’s linear, and the story lurches all-too-quickly to a pretty unsatisfying conclusion.

But it’s also a cracking game – tense, atmospheric and involving. Countless new releases attempt to position themselves as ‘dark’ and ‘grown-up’ but fall comically short of the mark. Dreamweb certainly delivers on this front, and I’m not just talking about the occasional swear word or the brief (but often-mentioned) shagging scene, either.

More than anything else, there’s just something about this game that draws you in and won’t let go until you finish it. It doesn’t last long, but while it does, it’s totally absorbing.

If you haven’t played it already, get on over to Anarchy and grab it now. If you have, feel free to share your thoughts below…